Backcountry Chalet in Glacier National Park

Backcountry camping in Glacier National Park always promises amazing scenery and pristine wilderness, and usually involves packing your own tent, bedding and cooking gear. However, two options exist in the Park to stay in historic, backcountry chalets, and Scott and I were fortunate enough to snag a cancelled reservation and stay a night in Granite Park on Sept. 7, 2023.

Granite Park Chalet was built in 1914 and 1915 by the Great Northern Railway to provide comfortable back country accommodations inside Glacier National Park. We learned from our Chalet hosts that the locations for the original chalets were determined by selecting sites that were approximately a one-day horseback ride apart. Back in the days when the Park was initially founded, the main source of travel and tourism was on horseback, so offering accommodations in this fashion made sense. The photo below, was found in the Montana History Portal of the Montana State Library.

Granite Park was the last of the chalets built by the railroad and one of the only two back country chalets that have survived (the other is the Sperry Chalet). Today this rustic lodge is listed as a National Historic Landmark and it continues to provide comfortable lodging to adventurers and hardy visitors in the Glacier National Park wilderness.

There are several trails that you can take in and out of Granite Park Chalet. For our trip, we parked at Logan Pass, and hiked the 7.5 mile Highline Trail into the Chalet. The trail, ranked as moderate on AllTrails, has stunning 360 degree views! Other than a couple of miles with 400' of elevation gain each mile, it's a pretty doable hike for most anyone.

While this is certainly their territory, we didn't see any bears (Grizzly or Black) on the hike. The closest we came was that two bears crossed paths with a couple that were about 5 minutes ahead of us on the trail. There was a steaming pile of bear scat, gleaming purple and full of the season's huckleberries, that we had to step over on the trail. Hikers coming at us were spreading the warning of bears in the area. We actually ran into the couple who'd had the bear encounter about 10 minutes down the trail. We were all taking a lunch break in the same spot, which was a large boulder field with plenty of visibility. The section of trail where the bears were seen (and then disappeared into) was thick with dense berry bushes on both sides. We felt much safer eating lunch where we could see anything that might be coming at us!

After hiking about 5.5 miles, we got our first view of the Chalet on the horizon. While we still had a few miles to go, it was visible proof of our destination!

We'd been told there was a limited amount of water available for sale at the Chalet, so we opted to stop at a stream about 1/4 mile below the Chalet and filtered water to refill our containers. As it turned out, as Chalet guests, we had access to a water source that had been treated (it was again, a short walk away). Through hikers looking for water at the Chalet pay $11 per liter of bottled water (if it's available). While we were at first shocked at that price, we soon learned that everything that comes into the Chalet is carried in on mule trains. All the garbage is hauled out by the same mules (and guests are encouraged to pack out the garbage they generate). So, the need to be minimalistic is pretty crucial. We actually got to see the mule train the morning we departed (they come a couple of times a week).

On arrival, we got checked into our room by Lane and Colleen, two of the four staff members working at the Chalet for the summer. These two are the epitome of adventurers, taking jobs like this one around the globe that allow them to live and work in interesting, adventurous places. Following their work at the Chalet, they'll be heading to Antarctica on another work assignment! The first photo in this post was taken by Colleen, and can be found, along with other great photos on her Instagram page @themountainsarecolleen

Rooms at the Chalet range from double occupancy up to 5-6 person accommodations. There is no running water, and toilet facilities are in modern composting facilities outside the lodge. Scott and I had a room just big enough to fit our bunk bed, a small chair and bedside table. Hooks for backpacks were on the wall (in case mice were around and trying to get in the packs!). We still haven't purchased lightweight sleeping bags for backpacking, so we opted to pay extra for the linen package instead of bringing our own bedding. The mattresses were thick and comfortable, and we slept well after our long day of hiking. One caveat...though these look like thick, log cabin walls, there are actually gaps between the planks. The result is that you hear every sound from the rooms next door. The staff actually issued ear plugs to everyone, just in case your neighbor was a loud snorer!

We had signed up for a 5:40 pm time slot to use the kitchen facility. Most people bring their own food on this trip (although the Chalet does sell dehydrated backpacking food for those that don't want to pack their food). Scott and I had our own dehydrated meals, so we just used the kitchen to boil the needed water. Another large group had packed in quite an elaborate meal, but they certainly aren't the norm! This Chalet focuses on simplicity and rustic charm!

There was a staff-led program in the main lodge at 7pm, which included history of the Chalet, bear and backcountry safety tips, and a general rundown of what we needed to know at the Chalet. I liked one of their signs, that showed hiking distances to locations near and far!

From a weather perspective, we couldn't have been more fortunate! It had been raining for several days before we made this hike, but we had partly cloudy skies and no rains for our two days on this trip! Jackpot!!

Following the 7pm program, they brought out telescopes for people to get close up looks across the meadows and mountains (checking for wildlife), and after sunset, to look at stars.

As it was already getting pretty chilly as the sun was going down, Scott and I didn't stay out long thereafter!

We were back in the kitchen in the morning, heating water for coffee, tea, oatmeal and our skillet breakfast from Mountain House. Our hike out on The Loop trail in the morning would be shorter (4.1 miles), but a steep descent all the way (2,400 feet down).

We weren't in a big hurry, as we had heard that the first shuttle busses wouldn't start running until about 10:30 am. During the busy summer months, the shuttles run frequently, but we had come in the transition season, and bus schedules had been reduced this week. We were hopeful of catching the shuttle, but after talking to some other hikers, we were prepared to hitchhike back to our truck at Logan Pass if necessary.

We were really happy to have our trekking poles on the hike out. You really feel the steep descents on your knees, and poles definitely help reduce the impact.

Just below the Chalet, The Loop Trail passes by the Granite Park Backcountry Campground. We vaguely remembered the reference to this location from a book we'd read the year before.

Jack Olsen's "Night of the Grizzlies", chronicles the August, 1967 Grizzly attacks (one of which occurred at the Granite Park Campground) and resulted in the deaths of two young women and injuries to others in their parties. After the hike, we listened to Chapters 6-8 of the book again, and gained a new appreciation for the drama of the scene. It turns out that we had walked in the steps of the witnesses and victims (two of which were brought to the very dining room where we ate at the Chalet for makeshift emergency medical attention) getting to and from the Chalet.

With dense vegetation on most of The Loop trail, we were on high alert for bears...but again, no sign of them! After two hours of hiking, we could hear the traffic of the road, and knew we were close to the end of our hike.

As luck would have it, we caught a shuttle about 5 minutes after we arrived at The Loop Trailhead on Going-to-the-Sun Road! The good fortunes of our Granite Park Chalet adventure had come full circle, and we were on our way back to Logan Pass to get the truck!